Jazz & Improvisation / Avant-Garde Jazz

A duo recording from October 2004, produced by Evan Parker, which marked the first time that Louis Moholo-Moholo and Stan Tracey had worked together for thirty years and the first time ever as a duo. The pair entered Gateway Studios in Kingston, London with no prior discussion on what form the music should take, choosing instead to let the music take them. This glorious album is the result.

2000 release ** "Entropy Stereo Recordings presents Branches by Northwoods Improvisers. This album represents a slightly different approach for the group. While the Northwoods have collectively used a wide variety of instruments on previous recordings, here they choose to explore the possibilities with the marimba, bass, and drum combination. The album opens with the original composition "Kuntu" which launches into a high energy 7/8 African groove. In fact, rhythms are the key to Branches. Throu…

"In the early 1990s, trombonist Jeb Bishop became an essential part of Chicago’s musically and geographically outward-looking jazz community. His mastery of the full spectrum of trombone language, from earthy melody to abstract sound effects, made him indispensable in every band he joined—including the Vandermark 5, Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet, School Days, and Engines—and the indelible quality of his compositions made his recordings with his own bands landmarks of the era. Bishop left Chic…

First meetings are always a risk, but if the vibrations are right and the doors are open, magic will be made. When the members of Look Both Days (brought together by Chicago pianist Erez Dessel) took the stage on the opening night of the 2023 Catalytic Sound Festival, nobody knew quite what to expect. With Marvin Tate on the mic, Mai Sugimoto and Fred Jackson Jr. both on alto saxophone, Erez Dessel on piano, and Ben Hall on drums, these stalwarts of the midwestern improvised music scene were poi…

*2025 stock* Emerging from the fertile ground where language meets rhythm, Groppler Zorn proudly announces the release of their highly anticipated debut album. Conceived in the transition from spoken word to music, the project embodies the belief that the urge to speak and the impulse to dance spring from the same source. Far from being a singular vision, the album is the result of a series of creative dialogues — conversations between musicians and artists from diverse, and at times opposing, a…

*2025 stock* The acclaimed ensemble Double Helix Quartet proudly announces the release of their highly anticipated new album, an adventurous collection that redefines the boundaries between contemporary classical music, improvisation, and experimental soundscapes. With this bold statement, the quartet reaffirms its role as one of the most forward-thinking voices in today’s chamber music scene.   Fusing tradition with innovation, the album showcases the group’s signature interplay of precision an…

*2025 stock* Fear is Heavy, I've Got Plans ... is the debut recording by Turtle Boat, a free-jazz outfit led by Abhilasha Chebolu (Null Copula, Princsex, Gault, Ryan Jewell Quintet) featuring her compositions with additional contributions from saxophonist Alex Burgoyne (Small Songs, Alex Burgoyne Quartet, Gault, Liver Quiver, Ryan Jewell Quintet). Joined by Dan DiPiero (Small Songs, Alex Burgoyne Quartet, Common Things), the trio first assembled in 2015 after a decade of playing together in vari…

*2025 stock* Ism highlights the distinct qualities of each member. Fred's methodical approach to melody, Ed Wilkerson’s relentless dynamism, Jim’s uncanny ability to subvert expectations, and Avreeayl's inescapable rhythm, which weaves through the music—shaping everything from textured explorations to intense grooves to wild improvisations.

Chicago Underground Duo is the long-running collaborative project of composer/trumpeter/electronicist Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217, New Future City Radio with Damon Locks) and composer/drummer/mbiraist Chad Taylor (jaimie branch’s Fly or Die, Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons, Luke Stewart’s Silt Trio). Hyperglyph is their first album in 11 years, and 8th in the absolute cabinet of wonders that is the Chicago Underground Duo. The pair have played music together in a multitude…

William Parker’s Universal Tonality documents an epic performance which brings his titular concept to full, vibrant life. An exquisite example of this system in practice, it features a truly once-in-a-lifetime assembly of creative music luminaries and legends. Clocking in at nearly two hours and featuring six extended pieces flowing across two discs, this Universal Tonality happening took place in December 2002. Parker invited 16 musicians of various ages, cultures and musical backgrounds – to j…

Polish label Fundacja Słuchaj is thrilled to announce the release of "A Modicum Of Blues," an electrifying new album by five powerhouse improvisers: Ivo Perelman (tenor sax), Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Mark Helias (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums). This recording captures the quintet in their purest element—live in the studio, free of plans or constraints, driven only by their joy of spontaneous creation. Renowned for his visionary approach, saxophonist Ivo Perelman assembles a…

Almost two decades have passed since Martin Kuchen, one of the brightest figures in European improvised music, founded the band Angles. Over the years, the band has evolved in terms of its membership and personnel. The Portuguese label Clean Feed has released the vast majority of the group's albums. Now it is time for the latest incarnation of Angles, this time Angles 11, featuring musicians from the core line-up and the oldest companions of musical journeys, as well as ‘fresh blood’. Those we a…

Tip! This new acoustic trio is consisting of three of the most iconic players of todays European jazz, improvisation and experimental music scene. This line-up took a long birth phase, but was a logical step and basically came out of juggling the possibilities and attempts of combining the effort of two high energy noise + electro-acoustic duos: Ignaz Schick/Oliver Steidle (Ilog) and Ingebrigt-Håker-Flaten/Ignaz Schick. Both duos started in 2013 (Ilog) and 2015 (Håker Flaten/schick) and have a l…

Remastered in 24-bit from the original master tapes. Craft Recordings and Jazz Dispensary are set to issue a wide vinyl release of Joe Henderson’s 1969 classic, Power To The People, for the first time in over 50 years. Blending a socially conscious spirit with hard bop, jazz-funk, and electronic elements, the album finds the saxophonist entering a new creative dimension, as he performs such originals as “Isotope,” “Afro-Centric” and the first recording of his classic “Black Narcissus,” alongside…

“Extrapolation,” the debut solo album by visionary guitarist John McLaughlin, continues to stand as a landmark in the evolution of jazz fusion. Recorded in London before McLaughlin’s legendary collaborations with Miles Davis and the formation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, this 1969 classic exemplifies a bold new direction for British jazz. A pioneering force in modern music, McLaughlin brought together an extraordinary group of musicians for “Extrapolation”: John Surman (baritone and soprano saxo…

Newly designed packaging with original artwork. Comes in a hard box cover with a 12-page booklet. There exists a clear before and after Solo Concerts Bremen/Lausanne. On those evenings in March and July 1973, in those European concert halls, Keith Jarrett wasn't simply playing piano. He was conjuring something magical and unrepeatable - note by note - in that unique dialogue between artist and instrument that only the greatest improvisers truly understand. Today, fifty years later, ECM Records t…

Walter Fähndrich's album "Viola" is a beautiful and captivating collection of works for the viola. Fähndrich's skills as a violist are on full display as he expertly navigates through a variety of pieces, showcasing the instrument's rich and versatile sound. From hauntingly melancholic melodies to lively and energetic compositions, "Viola" takes listeners on a journey through a range of emotions. Fähndrich's impeccable technique and emotional depth make this album a must-listen for any classical…

Vijay Iyer presents a powerful new trio, in which he is joined by two key figures in creative music, Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh.  “We have an energy together that is very distinct. It has a different kind of propulsion, a different impulse and a different spectrum of colours”. Repertoire on UnEasy, recorded at Oktaven Audio Studio in Mount Vernon, New York in December 2019, includes Iyer originals written over a span of 20 years, plus Geri Allen’s “Drummer’s Song” and a radical recasting…

For their second album Hi Res Heart expand from being a trio to a performing quintet with the addition of the two string players. In contrast to the first album - a very carefully conceived studio construct - Move Fast And Mend Things finds the group in live performance mode, recorded the day after their first gig as a five piece. As before, spaciousness and fire co-exist. Even when the music is at its most abstract, the spirit of the blues is never too far away. The music is direct and melodic …

A senior figure on the scene whose output shows no sign of letting up as he enters his eighth decade. As well as groups alongside his established peers, he increasingly provides great experience and opportunity for his younger colleagues. Paul Dunmall and Discus Music are clearly on a roll together as the veteran composer and improviser delivers his sixth album in two years to the label. And what is especially interesting is how each of them sits well outside Paul's free blowing music, concentra…

Two decades ago, an all-star assembly of Chicago improvisers started a new band, drawing its name from an 1841 book by Charles Mackay: Extraordinary Popular Delusions. With weekly gigs at a spot in Chicago called Hotti Biscotti, Jim Baker, Mars Williams, Brian Sandstrom, and Steve Hunt honed their sound, which could be ferocious or nerdy or diffuse, as they moment required. After a couple years, the quartet moved to a regular Monday session at Beat Kitchen, where they have maintained their weekl…

*2024 stock. Deluxe packaging* Nice Guys is an album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, recorded in May 1978 and released on ECM the following year—their debut for the label. The quintet features trumpeter Lester Bowie, saxophinists Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell and rhythm section Malachi Favors Maghostut and Famoudou Don Moye.

Kaleidoscopic Visions showcases Tom Skinner drawing together the many threads of his career as one of the UK’s most versatile and free-thinking contemporary musicians. Performing and recording with Sons of Kemet, The Smile, David Byrne, Meshell Ndegeocello, Alabaster DePlume, Floating Points and Peter Zummo as well as a wide range of collaborations across London’s vibrant improvised and electronic scene, Skinner’s diverse touchpoints are brought together in an album of quiet power and profound t…

De la Catessen Records presents "Here Comes Everything," an 18CD debut by Pascoe & Martin. Inspired by Joyce’s Ulysses, each disc is a long improvisation, blending piano and saxophone in a virtuosic, playful exploration of experience and dialogue.

Long hidden from the world, the extraordinary sound of Baobab finally emerges. Recordings made in the late 1970s by the Stuttgart-based group—once described as "one of the most interesting rock-jazz groups on the Stuttgart scene"—are being unveiled to listeners for the very first time after more than 45 years in the vaults. The album, simply titled Baobab, showcases the fearless creativity and genre-blurring spirit of a band who were decades ahead of their time. Fusing the improvisational energy…

Balance Point Acoustics proudly announces the release of "Two Felt-Tip Pens: Live At Moers," a strikingly original album recorded live at the renowned Moers Festival in Germany and dedicated to the late Hans Schneider (1951–2024). The release features the adventurous trio of German saxophonist Stefan Keune, American guitarist Sandy Ewen, and acclaimed bassist and label curator Damon Smith, three master improvisers converging in an equilateral triangle of spontaneous sonic exploration. "Two Felt-…

*2025 stock* Founded in the Winter of 2017 Adam Shead’s Adiaphora Orchestra is a large mixed chamber orchestra performing the compositions and conductions of percussionist composer, and educator Adam Shead. The Adiaphora Orchestra, located in Chicago, IL, is comprised of the cities finest rising star improvisers from a variety of performance idioms and practices. Including a full string, brass, woodwind, auxillary, and rhythm section the ensemble performs what Shead calls “indifference music”. A…

Full Cycle, Thread New. is a long form composition in three movements by Chicago multi-disciplinary artist Adam Shead. The piece focuses heavily on concepts of reformation, regeneration, non-linear time dynamics, and cyclical history. Throughout the three movements (which features Shead alongside acclaimed Chicago improvised music stalwarts Jeff Kimmel, clarinets; Ishmael Ali, cello/electronics; Matt Piet, piano; and Andrew Scott Young, double bass.) the quintet effortlessly intertwines a divers…

*2025 stock* Balance Point Acoustics proudly presents Volumes & Surfaces, a bold new statement in contemporary free jazz from the extraordinary trio of Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Damon Smith (double bass), and Adam Shead (drums). Recorded in Chicago at Elastic Arts and The Hungry Brain, this album showcases three of creative music’s most distinctive voices in full flight. Volumes & Surfaces reveals the trio’s uncanny synergy, adventurous spirit, and unyielding commitment to improvisational exp…

*300 copies limited edition. In process of stocking. 2022 stock* A great, unprecedented show! Two of the most influential artists in Lithuania, Vladimir Chekasin and Vladimir Tarasov performed as a duet at the 8th OCT-LOFT Jazz Festival. Titled “La Grande Sonata”, it was absolutely a one-of-a-kind performance specially presented to the Chinese audience. As the former members of the legendary Ganelin Trio (GTCh), they shared the glorious years with Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin. Together they have n…

Pharoah Sanders recorded the songs that comprise Thembi in the winter of ’70/’71, in between  sessions with Alice Coltrane that would eventually become her masterpiece Journey In Satchidananda LP. The same compelling spirituality that embued Coltrane’s masterpiece with a mood of stately calm and grace pervades Thembi. ‘On Thembi, that was the first time that I ever touched a Fender Rhodes electric piano. We got to the studio in California — Cecil McBee had to unpack his bass, the drummer had to …

Unionen is a new quartet of four star-level Norwegian and Swedish jazz musicians. The group takes its name from the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch 1814-1905 and brings together Ståle Storløkken (Supersilent), Per "Texas" Johansson, Petter Eldh (Koma Saxo) and Gard Nilssen (Supersonic Orchestra). It's not hip to say "supergroup" but this sure is one super of a group, with each member contributing to the band sound that is unique in all the best possible ways. From mis…

Timo Lassy, one of the leading lights in the current generation of Finnish Jazz, releases a new live album with his hard-cooking trio on We Jazz Records. That's Lassy on tenor sax, Ville Herrala on double bass and Jaska Lukkarinen on drums – each member a We Jazz recording solo artist on their own right. Recorded at G Livelab, Helsinki's premiere live music spot, in 2023 and including new versions of tracks all accross the sax man's celebrated catalog, Live in Helsinki proves why Lassy usually p…

Finnish saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen makes his We Jazz solo debut with Lehto / Korpi, a widescreen environmental jazz ambient album effortlessly bringing together Lyytinen's saxophone, field recordings and extended instrumentation. Lyytinen's solo music is built on textural compositions, extended saxophone techniques and electro-acoustic soundscapes and layers. Think albums like Evan Parker's "With Birds" and "Schwarzwaldfahrt" by Brötzmann/Bennink but with a whole other world of sounds to work wi…

Finnish quartet Superposition returns with their second album, "II", on We Jazz Records, 19th July. The band will premiere their new album live on the same day at Helsinki's Odysseus Festival, organised by We Jazz. Led by drummer Olavi Louhivuori, Superposition features Linda Fredriksson and Adele Sauros on saxes and Mikael Saastamoinen on bass. Having won the "EMMA" prize for the Finnish jazz album of the year with their debut (We Jazz Records, 2020), Superposition takes leaps forward with thei…

Cosmic Ear is a new group bringing together Christer Bothén, Mats Gustafsson, Goran Kajfeš, Kansan Zetterberg and Juan Romero. Their debut album Traces is released by We Jazz Records on 23rd of May, 2025. Including 6 deep cuts, Traces is an album that sees Cosmic Ear tracking down the "traces" of the legendary Don Cherry's legacy while paving their own way in contemporary creative music expression. Christer Bothén, a collaborator with Don Cherry during his Swedish period in the 1970s, brings dep…

Yowzers is a new album by Chicago composer, improvisor, instrumentalist and musical folklorist Ben LaMar Gay. The twelve track collection is a leap forward in the lexicon of Gay’s recorded output, and a veritable masterwork of ancient inner-body rhythms and intuitive melodic storytelling. It’s worth mentioning that a leap forward for Gay is no small feat. The musical ground he has covered in the last decade, both as a bandleader and collaborator, is immense. His de facto debut album—the 2018 com…

Repressed! Black recycled vinyl with offset-printed covers.  'This recording was done on a four track tape recorder. Meaning the process of recording was a bit different this time around. Most of the tracks had to be recorded more or less in one take all the way through which means more room for mistakes. As I didn't have the ctrl-z option of the computer I had to try and fix my mistakes by turning them into features. This problem solving on the fly approach is why I'm calling the record ad hoc'…

With Bamboo Noodles, Organic Pulse Ensemble (the one-man project of Gustav Horneij) serves up four deep, groove-laden tracks built around bamboo flute improvisations, blending spiritual jazz, Eastern flavors, and infectious rhythms

NoBusiness Records presents Live at Little John, Yokohama 1999 by Mototeru Takagi Quartet. Improvised & composed by Mototeru Takagi, Susumu Kongo, Nao Takeuchi and Shota Koyama. Recorded live on the 25th September, 1999 at Little John, Yokohama, Japan by Susumu Kongo and Nao Takeuchi. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Cover photo by Mitsuo Jofu 上不三雄. Booklet photos - Shota Koyama by Yutaka Narasaki 楢崎 豊 / Nao Takeuchi courtesy of Papillon / Mototeru Takagi by M…